Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policy of renewing and redefining India’s millennia-old civilisational bonds with the Middle East are bearing concrete fruit in the form of strategic alliances and investments in India’s infrastructure sector.

Mention the Middle East to an Indian and he will immediately associate it with oil, deserts, Dubai and, very possibly, a non-resident relative stationed there. None of the above provides a misleading picture of the region; equally, none of them paints the complete picture either.

The US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord will not have much impact on the fight against global warming as India and others take the lead in embracing renewable energy.

Just as US President Donald Trump’s repudiation of the Trans Pacific Partnership provided Chinese President Xi Jinping the opportunity to present himself as the prime defender of the globalised trading order, the US walkout of the Paris Climate Pact has presented Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the rare chance of presenting India as the leader of the global fight against climate change.

Suma Chakrabarti has been charged with one of Europe’s leading development banks for five years and has spent considerable energy in striking a strong connect with India. Sir Suma tells ‘India Global Business’ how Indian companies can take the lead in re-defining the world’s development agenda.

What is your bank’s engagement with India like?

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) already works with a number of Indian companies in our countries of operation and we want to engage even more with the Indian private sector.

We have shown the way with Indian companies in our region. We have brought in Tata Beverages, Tata Power, the Jindal Group, SREI, among others, and they have all worked with us on projects in Russia, Georgia and other places.

There is a real opportunity for Indian businesses. When we look at the BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa], very few of their companies are global leaders. One of the Interesting things about India is that it does have some global names.

There is a real opportunity for India with this shift in development practice towards more of a private sector approach to be first and through the door.

Carbon capture and storage is a field India and the UK have great potential to collaborate on, writes the founder of a clean carbon company.

The UK and India have a history of collaboration when it comes to energy, something which looks set to continue for the foreseeable future. Notably, ahead of the November 2015 Paris climate summit, the two countries penned a comprehensive package of collaboration on energy and climate change, including commercial deals worth £3.2 billion, and a £10-million joint research partnership into new low-carbon technologies.

India has got its electricity under control but still does not have an answer to its unrelenting thirst for imported crude.

India has invested heavily in building up power plants to the extent there is a glut-like situation today. This year, India’s installed power capacity crossed 300 GW while peak power consumption is estimated in the range of just 140 GW.

India-Russia ties have been rooted in history but 2016 marked a shift in gears to give the relationship a solid 21st century dimension.

President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India in October marked a boost for the Make in India programme with the signing of a slew of deals for the co-production of military helicopters. India also signed up to the purchase of Russian missiles and frigates.

As India looks set to increase its GDP fivefold, to about $10 trillion, by 2040, it is axiomatic that the country’s energy demand will rise in tandem.

India recently took a small first step towards ensuring its energy security by commissioning three underground storage units of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Project with a combined capacity of 5.33 million metric tonnes of crude.

Though cut from the same cloth, the eldest in the next generation of the Munjal family has taken a divergent route from his predecessors. A staunch advocate of reversing the ill effects of climate change, Rahul Munjal is quickly gaining prominence in the green economy and already has India’s largest rooftop solar installation and first certified commercial green bond to his name. Inspired by his father who founded what was to become world’s largest two wheeler maker–Hero MotoCorp, the junior Munjal is hoping his venture would be as successful in its own way.

India has laid down a very aggressive road map for solar power in the country, with an overall target being 100GW by 2022 – nearly five times from current levels. Co-founder of Rays Power, a pioneer in the field of solar power generation in the country, gives his view on achieving this goal.

There is a very huge requirement for equity capital investment in the Indian solar sector and a lot of that capital will come from foreign markets. London, as one of the financial centres of the world, has shown a growing interest in solar in India as a promising story.

India Inc. CEO lays out the sharp contrast between India’s benign partnership and China’s projection of hard power in Africa and how it could become the template for Indian strategic-economic-political outreach programmes elsewhere.

Looking at India’s efforts at making inroads into Africa, I’m reminded of an old proverb, probably of Chinese origin, which says: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” Fortunately for India, that step has been widely welcomed in Africa, which views India as a benign partner that is helping countries in that continent meet and overcome challenges relating to healthcare, availability of cheap live-saving drugs, education and digital penetration, among several other initiatives that leverage, harness and project India’s soft power. Then, African nations are major partners in the International Solar Alliance, which…